Your computer joins the family.
The same encrypted, peer-to-peer transfer you have on your phones — now on the desktop. Leave it running and your Mac, Windows PC, or Linux box becomes a drop target for every paired device. Same age encryption, same frozen wire protocol, the exact same tested core.
A native installer for Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later). Drag to Applications and go — the Java runtime is bundled, so there is nothing else to install.
Download for MacAn installer for Windows 10 and 11 with the runtime bundled. Installs to your Start menu with a desktop shortcut — nothing else to set up.
Download for WindowsA Debian/Ubuntu .deb, plus portable .tar.gz and .AppImage builds for any distro — x86_64 or ARM. One binary is both the window app and a headless CLI, ideal for a server or a Raspberry Pi in the closet.
Every build is the same pure-JVM core, compiled per platform. Prefer to build it yourself? The source is at github.com/norsehorse-dev/RelayPonyDesktop.
Installing
macOS
Open the downloaded .dmg and drag RelayPony into Applications, then launch it. The app is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens with a normal double-click — macOS may show a one-time “downloaded from the Internet” confirmation the first time, which is standard for any app installed outside the App Store.
Linux (Debian / Ubuntu)
Install the package and its bundled runtime in one step:
sudo apt install ./RelayPony-linux.debThen launch RelayPony from your applications menu, or run relaypony in a terminal. For an always-on drop target, relaypony receive advertises over your network and writes incoming files to ~/Downloads/RelayPony.
Other distributions & ARM (Arch, Fedora, Raspberry Pi, anything)
Not on Debian or Ubuntu? Two distro-agnostic builds run everywhere, bundled runtime included — pick x86_64 for a normal PC or aarch64 for a Raspberry Pi or other ARM board.
AppImage — download for x86_64 or aarch64, make it executable, and run it:
chmod +x RelayPony-*.AppImage
./RelayPony-*.AppImagePortable tarball — download for x86_64 or aarch64, extract, and run the launcher (add receive for a headless drop target):
tar -xzf RelayPony-linux-*.tar.gz
./RelayPony/bin/RelayPonyOn a Debian/Ubuntu ARM board there is also an arm64 .deb.
Arch Linux
Install from the AUR with your preferred helper — the package covers x86_64 and aarch64, pulls the matching portable build, and adds a relaypony launcher and desktop entry:
yay -S relaypony-binWindows
Open the downloaded .msi and follow the installer — RelayPony lands in your Start menu with a desktop shortcut, the runtime bundled. Because the installer isn't code-signed yet, Windows SmartScreen may show a blue “Windows protected your PC” notice on first run; click More info, then Run anyway. Configuration lives in %APPDATA%\relaypony, and received files land in Downloads\RelayPony.
Pairing with your phones
Open RelayPony on the desktop, switch on Receive, and scan the on-screen QR code with the RelayPony app on your phone — the same trust-on-first-use pairing the phones use with each other. Once paired, files move both ways, phone ↔ computer, encrypted the whole way. Trust is keyed to each device's age public key, never its name, so a device you have paired stays recognized.
The same core, not a rewrite
The desktop app compiles the exact wire-protocol, session, and age-encryption code the Android app ships, plus the age core from AgePony. That is the whole point: one tested implementation means guaranteed interop across every device you own, and far less code that could drift apart. It is open source under Apache-2.0.